Chocolate lovers could soon be going into wine buff-style raptures about the 'nose' of their favourite treat after scientists developed a new way of enhancing its flavours.

They say the process gives chocolate a range of tastes as sophisticated and varied as those found in the finest wines, beers or coffees.

Manufacturers usually have little control over the basic flavour of chocolate because the fermented cocoa beans from which it is made are exposed to wild yeasts when freshly harvested.

Belgian scientists working with cocoa company Barry Callebaut have discovered it is possible to alter the flavour of chocolate (stock picture used) by controlling the yeast that ferments the beans after they have been picked to develop richer aromas and flavours

Now Belgian scientists working for the cocoa processor Barry Callebaut have developed a stronger hybrid yeast that leads to richer aromas and flavours.

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Jan Steensels, a researcher at the University of Leuven and the Flanders Institute for Biotechnology, said: 'This means that for the first time, chocolate makers have a broad portfolio of different yeast strains that are all producing different flavours.

'This is similar to the situation in beer brewing and wine making.

Shortly after harvesting, cocoa beans are left out so the gooey pulp around them ferments. By controlling the yeast that causes this process, the researchers say they can produce a range of different flavours

'This makes it possible to create a whole range of boutique chocolates to match everyone's favorite flavor, similar to wines, tea, and coffee.'

The research, which is published the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology, focused on how cocoa beans change when they are fermented.

After harvesting, the cocoa beans are collected in large plastic boxes, or piled in large heaps on the soil, in the farms where they are grown.

The beans are surrounded by a gooey pulp that is fermented by yeast and bacteria.

Cocoa beans have been used by humans for thousands of years, but the yeasts that normally cause the fermentation come from the environment and so are random. By ensuring a particular robust yeast out competes the others, the researchers were able to tune the aroma of the beans

However, the researchers found that by introducing yeast strains that could out compete other invading yeast strains, it was possible to vary the taste of the beans produced.

The team said they were able to produce striking differences in aroma from chocolates made from fermentations using different yeasts.

Dr Esther Meersman, who also took part in the study, said: 'We were initially surprised that the volatile flavor compounds are retained in the beans during drying and roasting.'

CHOCOLATE HAS BEEN AROUND 10 MILLION YEARS LONGER THAN BELIEVED

Delicious and rich, the taste of chocolate has been a source of happiness and decadence for thousands of years.

But now experts believe cocoa could be significantly older than previously thought.

Research has shown that Theobroma cacao evolved 10 million years ago and this discovery could help prevent the looming worldwide chocolate shortage.

Until this discovery, historians assumed cocoa dated back 3,100 years after traces were found in Central America.

In particular, researchers identified residue of a chemical compound that comes exclusively from the cacao plant in pottery vessels dating from about 1100 BC in Puerto Escondido, Honduras.

However, the new study pushes the timeline back considerably.

It suggests the cacao tree is much older than previously realised, and may have close relations that will be capable of sustaining our appetites as worldwide demand increases.

The findings come after experts warned the world is on the brink of a chocolate supply crisis thanks to instability in cacao growing areas and soaring demand in developing countries.

Chocolate is produced from seeds of the cacao tree Theobroma cacao, literally meaning 'food of the Gods'.

But the main cacao-producing regions are West Africa, South America, Southeast Asia and the Pacific, all areas vulnerable to threats of climate change, political instability, pests and diseases.